The trend is clearly moving towards sustainable events. These demonstrate that suppliers and companies are conscious of and are taking responsibility for the environment and society. For us, sustainability is more than just a trend: As a model building for sustainability, conserving resources and smart energy use, the darmstadtium is a natural choice as a venue for future-focused, climate-friendly conferences. The Science and Congress Centre’s ongoing commitment to implement a holistic sustainability concept has been recognised over the past few years with numerous awards.
HOLISTIC SUSTAINABILITY MANAGEMENT
Responsible and future-focused management – that’s our goal. The darmstadtium is Europe’s first congress centre with EMASplus certification. EMASplus is a sustainability management system based on the world’s most ambitious environmental management system, the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme – EMAS for short. As a comprehensive sustainability concept, it broadens the ecological perspective to include social, ethical and economic issues.
Corporate environmental management, future-focused business operation and awareness of social and ethical responsibility are firmly embedded in the structures and processes of the darmstadtium. As an EMASplus-certified congress centre, our business operations are guided by standards that go well beyond legal requirements and are continuously evolving. The staff of the darmstadtium, with all their experience and ideas, play a key role in this process. Transparency is important to us. So we are open about our efforts. You can find detailed information about corporate social responsibility (CSR) at the darmstadtium in our sustainability report.
CO2-NEUTRAL EVENTS
The darmstadtium began using 100% green energy in 2011. All stationary carbon emissions from events at the congress centre are compensated in cooperation with our climate partner ENTEGA. These include factors like water and district heating consumption, the vehicle fleet and waste management.
RESOURCE EFFICIENCY THROUGH ADVANCED BUILDING TECHNOLOGY
The darmstadtium’s energy concept is a dynamic interplay of architectural and technological features. The building is largely heated by internal heat sources. The building’s own biomass boiler is an important component of the building’s energy supply. Woodchips from the region are used as fuel. The roof surfaces of the darmstadtium are equipped with over 400 solar modules to generate solar power. The photovoltaic system generates 180 watts of power per module – or around 70,000 kilowatt-hours per year!
The façades are made of a special glass that protects the building against overheating in summer. The building’s exterior features are likewise bold and impressive, with its many slanting surfaces. This is not merely an architectural feature – it also serves to avoid the entry of direct sunlight, despite 80% of the building’s surfaces being flooded with daylight. The Calla, a funnel-shaped flower made of glass and steel in the foyer of the congress centre, has two resource-saving functions: to collect rainwater and to draw in fresh air. After that, heat recovery from the waste air follows. The collected rainwater is used for sanitation in the building and for watering green areas.
Sustainability par excellence!
FIRST DGNB-CERTIFIED CONGRESS CENTRE
The overall sustainability performance of the darmstadtium building has been recognised with an award: it is the first German congress centre to receive the DGNB certificate in silver. The certification system of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen e.V. (“German Sustainable Building Council”) is a next-generation system in comparison to other international awards: evaluation is based not just on ecological aspects but also on a holistic consideration of the building’s entire life cycle. The building’s sustainable overall performance is evaluated using around 40 different criteria from various categories.
“FAIRPFLICHTET” – THE SUSTAINABILITY CODE FOR THE EVENT SECTOR
The Darmstadt Science and Congress Centre supports the GCB and EVVC’s “fairpflichtet” campaign. Holistic and responsible business operation is one of the greatest challenges for the future of the events sector. For the Darmstadt Science and Congress Centre, it is already a matter of course. The company’s alignment, and thus our employees’ activities and efforts, are aimed at sustainability and achieving a balance between economic, ecological and social aspects. We have already implemented most of the points of the sustainability codex by means of the principles outlined as well as the specific guidelines and are thus actively contributing to implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.
THE MOST SUSTAINABLE OFFICE IN GERMANY
The darmstadtium is not only a model building for sustainability, protection of resources and intelligent energy use when it comes to its event organisation. Dedication to the environment is also deeply rooted in everyday office life. That is why the congress centre was awarded first place in 2014 and third place in 2019 in the “Office and Environment” competition in the “Companies with up to 500 employees” category. The competition organised by the German Environmental Management Association (B.A.U.M. e.V.) centres around careful use of resources in everyday office work as well as consideration of environmental issues when procuring office material.
SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL
Whether our visitors are coming from near or far, we offer a range of climate-friendly and cost-effective ways of getting here. Thanks to the DB Event Ticket, a cooperation between the Darmstadt Science and Congress Centre and Deutsche Bahn, you can travel conveniently and stress-free to conferences and meetings at the darmstadtium. We help you protect the environment: your travel to and from the airport on Deutsche Bahn long-distance services runs on 100% green energy. The energy needed for your trip will be obtained from renewable energy sources only.
Arriving with an electric car is also possible without any problems. Several charging stations for electric vehicles are located within walking distance of the darmstadtium, e.g. on the western Mercksplatz in front of the Jungendstilbad. We will be happy to inform you about other locations.
There are several ways of getting around Darmstadt in an environmentally friendly way: With the DarmstadtCard, a congress ticket for public transport, and HeinerLiner, a ride pooling service with electric vehicles, you can travel comfortably throughout the entire Darmstadt city area. Other options include renting one of our e-bikes on site or even taking advantage of the “Call a Bike” campaign, an offer to rent bicycles from Deutsche Bahn.